Bayonne Bridge To Close Overnight On Weekdays For Construction

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- If you're traveling between New Jersey and Staten Island, you may want to start avoiding the Bayonne Bridge.

The bridge will be closed overnight on weekdays starting Monday night through February.

The bridge will be closed between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Monday through Thursday and from midnight Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday as part of the $1.3 billion "Raise the Roadway'' construction project.

The bridge will remain open on Saturday and Sunday nights and on holiday weekends.

The project will raise the 82-year-old bridge's roadway by 64 feet to accommodate larger cargo ships anticipated to begin using the expanded Panama Canal by the end of 2015.

The new roadway will also have wider lanes, a median and a bike and pedestrian path.

The Bayonne Bridge project is expected to bring 2,500 construction jobs and even more business to the area when it is completed, officials said in June.

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